on the net
This site offers information compiled by Wills Eye Hospital

When the world-renowned Wills Eye Hospital moved into its modern building in downtown Philadelphia last year, it reinforced its new image by also updating the hospital Web site, www.willseye.org.

Give the Web site designers high marks for providing patients and eyecare professionals with a highly functional, easy-to-navigate site that's both attractive and packed with useful information.

Click on to the site's home page and the first thing you'll see is a photo of the handsome new building. But that's just the beginning. The site offers information on eye conditions and diseases in three different ways: by topic, by symptom and by answering frequently asked questions about specific conditions and diseases. For a concerned patient seeking information, this cross-referencing can be invaluable.

The Wills site also does an excellent job covering eye anatomy, providing a basic description and explaining the function for each part of the eye.

The section on clinical trials outlines the various studies in which Wills is participating and provides information on how to enroll patients in specific trials. Beneath the description of each ongoing study, the site offers links to the Web sites of organizations that are relevant to that trial. For example, information about a study that involves using Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty as a primary treatment for open-angle glaucoma is followed by links to a number of glaucoma-related organizations and support groups. By providing these appropriately placed links, the site again demonstrates its patient-friendly design.

The Wills Web site also includes archived issues of the hospital's quarterly newsletter Insight and the content of all recent hospital press releases.

In sum, Wills has succeeded in developing an efficient site that's full of useful information and free of unneeded clutter.

Visit www.willseye.org

If you've discovered a Web site or service that's been useful to you in practice or at home, we'd like to know about it. E-mail Jerry Helzner at helznergi@boucher1.com or call him at (215) 643-8013.